By itself, Heinz's buyout by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and private-equity firm 3G will bring $12 billion of new U.S. leveraged loans to market (this is far and away the largest deal since 2007), with another $2.1 billion of bridge loans that may be taken out by high-yield bonds or second-lien loans.

Dell's buyout via Silver Lake, meanwhile, will contribute another $7.5 billion in leveraged loan volume - including a $5.5 billion covenant-lite institutional tranche - with other large transactions on the docket, such as Virgin Media. These deals show the pathway to the long awaited revival in public-to-private LBO deals and might indicate that, for M&A-related leveraged finance, the market is shifting into a higher gear.